Answer:
1. 8 copies of each gene in somatic cells
2. 4 copies of each gene in gametes
Explanation:
According to the question, strawberry is an octoploid organism (8n). This means that it contains 8 sets of chromosomes in its genome. If it contains 8 copies of each chromosome, then it also contains 8 copies of each gene in its body or somatic cell (4 copies from each parent).
However, it will produce gametes or reproductive cells via meiosis. Meiosis is a kind of cell division that reduces the chromosomal number by half. Hence, an octoploid strawberry (8n) with 8 copies of genes will undergo meiosis to produce gametes that have 4 copies of each chromosome and hence, four copies of each gene i.e. 4n (tetraploid).
